"South Korea broke its own record for the world’s lowest total fertility rate last year, census data showed on Wednesday, and experts project it will drop even further this year, adding to concerns about the country’s shrinking and aging population."
If you watched any SKTV shows, you would never believe this! What is (not) going on?!?!?!
I do wonder what the long term future looks like in countries like SK, Japan, and other nations with declining birth rates. Will just about everyone move and live in cities? All of these countries once had much smaller populations.
IMO they're going to have to get over themselves and allow more immigration. There's been a bit of a quasi-ethnostate feel to these countries and their immigration laws. Nothing is explicitly based on race, but if you don't have a Japanese/Korean parent you're going to find it very difficult to get citizenship.
Rich countries tend to have falling birth rates. Other first-world nations can combat this problem with immigration (except for periods of time when the racist/lunatic right-wing fringe gains power, but in general that's how it goes). Japan and SK have been a bit stubborn about it.
Yesterday I saw this list of Top 10 active undrafted NFL players. I was surprised Laird was on the list, and then just went to grab the link so I can post here and realized it wasn't Laird but it was Ricard.
Grapes of Wrath, The Lady Eve, My Darling Clementine, 12 Angry Men, The Wrong Man, Fort Apache, The Ox Bow Incident, Young Mr. Lincoln, Jezebel and Fail Safe. Ten terrific film all the better for his presence in them.
You know, there are a lot of good actors who are basically some version of (roughly) the same actor in every film - but you look at this list, and Henry Fonda's abilities are amazing to be entirely different characters. What an impressive range.
When we flew to the US for the big move, the movie was “On Golden Pond.” I hated it, but I was 11. Years later I got talked into watching it again and while the kid actors were still wildly unconvincing, I got a lot more out of old Hank Fonda and Katharine Hepburn.
I still partake on occasion which I believe is rare for someone who smoked enough to be addicted to smoking at one point. It most frequently happens when out drinking. Since I will only smoke hand-rolled tobacco, this extremely limits the opportunities.
Of all the things I've quit (cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, meat, gum, coffee and black tea) the hardest was smoking. But that was a long time ago and I don't miss it a bit.
I don’t miss it. I smoked intermittently for about 6 years - like, maybe a pack a month if you averaged it out. Oddly, I stopped because one morning I woke up with 1) a catastrophic hangover, and 2) a nicotine reeking hand on my face (it was my hand to be clear), and that smell was what I associated with the misery. Put me right off the cancer sticks (but not the hooch, of course)
This actually happens frequently in the TangTpt household because both my son and MIL are very picky eaters. If out, it's either Popeye's, Krispy Krunchy Chicken or Five Guys. If I'm cooking, it's either pancakes and eggs, roast beef or pan-fried chicken cutlets.
No 2 would be salmon. Not sure what No 1 or 3 would want. Lots of favorites. No 1 is here with his GF and specifically wants to go to East Ocean in Emeryville for Dim Sum Fri morning. So maybe that?
My older daughter decided to expand her cooking repertoire so the answer for today is “pulled pork that is about to spend hours in the slow cooker.” My younger daughter and I would be perusing the menu for a place about a 15 minute drive away that has a bunch of independent mall-type food stands that are mostly East Asian (she’d be thinking Vietnamese, I’d probably be thinking Korean street food)
Former career, I don't miss it at all, but the first company I worked for really took care of their employees. When you're in PR, regardless of the industry, everything is the most important announcement/product/project and the client is almost always panicking about it's release until it drops, things go well and the next potential disaster starts to be crafted. It's usually pretty thankless and wears on you.
I remember the movie Crazy People from the late 80s(?). Something about truthful advertising. I didn't see the movie but remember the trailer had one ad campain.
Yeah, starring Dudley Moore as an ad executive who has a mental breakdown and winds up in a mental institution. Then he finds that the other patients at the institution are pretty great at coming up with hilariously truthful ads.
Not the best movie ever, but the fake ads are legitimately funny.
Better Call Saul ended last week. Only Murders last night. The next seasons of Barry, Succession and a few other favorites are way off so I'm left with more reading time -- and re-runs of Schitt's Creek on Netflix.
working my way thru the first season. mostly good. but it struck me how mediocre the acting is compared to TNG in the Elysian Kingdom episode where the crew are acting out a manufactured drama in an imaginary world.
>> The U.S.S. Enterprise becomes stuck in a nebula that is home to an alien consciousness that traps the crew in a fairy tale.
on the other hand the TNG episodes either in the holodeck or w/ Q were often amazing.
Looks like all MLB teams play every other team in the other league starting next year. I hope the Dodgers play at Baltimore next year, maybe on the same trip as at Pittsburgh and Washington. I'd love to go see a games at those 3 places. I guess less Washington, but while I'd be there for the other 2...
All 30 Major League Baseball teams to play one another in a season for first time in 2023
All 30 teams will play one another in a season for the first time in the interleague era, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday as it released the schedule for the 2023 season.
As a result, division opponents will play each other just 13 times -- down from 19.
The new balanced schedule for 2023 has each team hosting a three-game series or playing a three-game series on the road against every team from the opposite league. Natural rivals -- like the Mets-Yankees, Dodgers-Angels and Cubs-White Sox -- will play each other four times, twice at home and twice on the road.
The whole division thing is already cheapened by too many Wild Cards spots. This at least makes it more even then the current system when the WC fight is between teams from different divisions.
This is a good change. I'll gladly sacrifice watching several division games against the same old foes if it means seeing more cross-league, cross-country opponents.
I think I liked it better before interleague play. Though it does give fans that live in a city with just one team the opportunity to see players from the other league.
The A’s dropped their second straight game to the Marlins, falling to Miami 5-3 in the middle game of the three game series.
The A’s have been marching out a bunch of rookie starting pitchers this year and they got an encouraging start from one of those arms tonight. Unfortunately the bats couldn’t back him up, providing a late trio of runs in the ninth inning to make it interesting at the end.
Starting pitcher Zach Logue had arguably his best start of the season tonight. After throwing a 10-pitch 1-2-3 top of the first, he stranded a runner on second in the second. The Marlins finally broke through with a leadoff home run in the top of the third, but Logue retired the next six in a row.
Maybe the opposite of a date? One of my coworkers has season tickets, and with it comes a free box for one game (yesterday's), so a bunch of us went. Out of 13 people, 7 were speaking German.
I was looking through the box scores while eating lunch. Because of the time difference today's paper had Monday night's A's box. Less than 3K attendance. So sad how they have made the situation so bad.
Saw the below on sfgate.com. I think we had a discussion before about how bad "San Fran" is and got mixed views. The Nats TV play-by-play guy regularly uses it. Last night he referred to the color guy (Kevin Frandsen) as a NoCal guy. I see SoCal all the time, but NoCal was a new one for me. Is it used commonly?
I've only heard it the one time. The announcer is a midwest guy, growing up in Missouri and then working for years in Oklahoma so maybe it's something they say there.
I guess I've been out of the loop, because I did not realize "San Fran" had become such a hated nickname. I knew "Frisco" was out, but apparently "San Fran" is worse now?
"San Fran" has always been despised in my book. But then again, I'm an old school Northern Californian who adheres to the Herb Caen school of thought on how to refer to San Francisco. Ess Eff is fine. The City is fine. San Francisco is fine. But ixnay to "Frisco" and "San Fran", both of which are either lazy or in reference to somewhere else..
For the second time in three days, the Dodgers made life miserable for a Cy Young contender, cruising to a 10-1 win over Corbin Burnes and the Brewers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Trayce Thompson had the big blow, a three-run home run in the second inning that broke the game open, in a game that was emblematic of his season. He wasn’t originally in the starting lineup on Tuesday, but was a late addition after Gavin Lux was scratched with a neck issue. Thompson was asked to fill in, just like he was asked to fill a void via trade in June when the Dodgers lost Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor to injury.
Thompson, a right-handed batter, started more against left-handers this year, but he’s had his fair share of time against right-handers, too. With Tuesday’s home run, plus an RBI single in the fourth off Burnes, Thompson this season is hitting .365/.459/.698 in 74 plate appearances against same-handed pitchers, the best OPS on the team against right-handers.
Sunday the Dodgers went up against the ERA leader and Cy Young favorite, Sandy Alcantra. 6 ER in 3.2 innings. Alcantra gets a chance for revenge this weekend.
Yesterday they went up against last year's Cy Young winner and top 5 in ERA Corbin Burnes. 7 ER in 3.2 innings.
Revision seems to be different than successful, then tearing it again, like Buehler. I guess revision is when something goes wrong and requires going back in.
I’ve been struck that SC is plainly trying to replicate the work of the alumni network that they wrecked a couple of years ago - lots of emails about trying to get volunteers for local events, I hope they’re falling on their ass.
Even without Stanford, there's 6 home other home games in UC Davis, UNLV, Arizona, Washington, Oregon and UCLA games. Not the best seats but a nice deal.
How much are the cheapest tickets these days? When I was a kid my allowance was adequate to buy a ducat. My older brother exchanged bottle caps for tickets. Have we priced a lot of kids and low income families out? I also remember going with my Cub Scout troop. Do kids groups go anymore?
Calling all Golden Bears fans! This Costco offer includes 2 Tickets to a select Cal State Berkeley 2022 regular season home game. This voucher is powered by FEVO.
The Fighting Hippies of Cal State Berkeley? The Bears' bitter rival? F*ck them. Let's start scheduling the b*stards againand stomping 'em. We'll play for possession of coveted CSB Bong. We want the bong! We want the bong! We want the bong!
No way. Buy the tickets, go to the game. Then, complain there was no such team as Cal State Berkeley playing as you had hoped and ask for a refund. Or, someone less lazy than me could bring this to the attention of the Cal/Cal-Berkeley/UC Berkeley/California marketing team.
There appear to be maybe 200 ppl at today's A's game.
Fisher can only look in the mirror
Say What?!?!?!?
"South Korea broke its own record for the world’s lowest total fertility rate last year, census data showed on Wednesday, and experts project it will drop even further this year, adding to concerns about the country’s shrinking and aging population."
If you watched any SKTV shows, you would never believe this! What is (not) going on?!?!?!
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/world/asia/south-korea-fertility-rate.html
I do wonder what the long term future looks like in countries like SK, Japan, and other nations with declining birth rates. Will just about everyone move and live in cities? All of these countries once had much smaller populations.
IMO they're going to have to get over themselves and allow more immigration. There's been a bit of a quasi-ethnostate feel to these countries and their immigration laws. Nothing is explicitly based on race, but if you don't have a Japanese/Korean parent you're going to find it very difficult to get citizenship.
Rich countries tend to have falling birth rates. Other first-world nations can combat this problem with immigration (except for periods of time when the racist/lunatic right-wing fringe gains power, but in general that's how it goes). Japan and SK have been a bit stubborn about it.
I mean they have to, they basically have no other choice.
It’s interesting to look at the map - the rates above replacement rate are almost entirely in sub-Saharan Africa.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?end=2020&start=1960&view=map
Patrick Laird
Yesterday I saw this list of Top 10 active undrafted NFL players. I was surprised Laird was on the list, and then just went to grab the link so I can post here and realized it wasn't Laird but it was Ricard.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChnNNzMvOgY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Henry Fonda
Grapes of Wrath, The Lady Eve, My Darling Clementine, 12 Angry Men, The Wrong Man, Fort Apache, The Ox Bow Incident, Young Mr. Lincoln, Jezebel and Fail Safe. Ten terrific film all the better for his presence in them.
You know, there are a lot of good actors who are basically some version of (roughly) the same actor in every film - but you look at this list, and Henry Fonda's abilities are amazing to be entirely different characters. What an impressive range.
He was charming in his acting roles but apparently a real jerk in his family life.
Very good list, Oski - The Lady Eve & My Darling Clementine are some of my faves.
12 Angry Men really is an amazing film
When we flew to the US for the big move, the movie was “On Golden Pond.” I hated it, but I was 11. Years later I got talked into watching it again and while the kid actors were still wildly unconvincing, I got a lot more out of old Hank Fonda and Katharine Hepburn.
Ex-smokers of the DBD. Do you miss or crave a smoke?
I still partake on occasion which I believe is rare for someone who smoked enough to be addicted to smoking at one point. It most frequently happens when out drinking. Since I will only smoke hand-rolled tobacco, this extremely limits the opportunities.
Of all the things I've quit (cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, meat, gum, coffee and black tea) the hardest was smoking. But that was a long time ago and I don't miss it a bit.
Why gum? Just because?
I've always hated the sound, smell and look of other people chewing gum so thought it hypocritical that I so indulge.
Ahh...makes sense.
I don’t miss it. I smoked intermittently for about 6 years - like, maybe a pack a month if you averaged it out. Oddly, I stopped because one morning I woke up with 1) a catastrophic hangover, and 2) a nicotine reeking hand on my face (it was my hand to be clear), and that smell was what I associated with the misery. Put me right off the cancer sticks (but not the hooch, of course)
My grandfather smoked Camels. He died of lung cancer. My father smoked Marlboros he died of lung cancer in 2018.
If your kid(s) decided dinner, where/what is happening?
If it were my 6-year old, we are having burritos every night. Honestly, I probably would not object.
Chicken nuggets, that's it.
Well, if it's my son, choice of wine to accompany it is a very big deal.
This actually happens frequently in the TangTpt household because both my son and MIL are very picky eaters. If out, it's either Popeye's, Krispy Krunchy Chicken or Five Guys. If I'm cooking, it's either pancakes and eggs, roast beef or pan-fried chicken cutlets.
No 2 would be salmon. Not sure what No 1 or 3 would want. Lots of favorites. No 1 is here with his GF and specifically wants to go to East Ocean in Emeryville for Dim Sum Fri morning. So maybe that?
Pulled pork (or any smoked meat) and mac and cheese
going out .. it is unanimously sushi, cheap or expensive
at home ..
- older daughter would ask for lamb kefta meatballs cooked in the tagine and a cauliflower marak. luckily this is relatively simple and easy to make
- younger daughter would be less specific and want something with salmon
they cook only about once a month and usually it is a one-pot meal like chili
My older daughter decided to expand her cooking repertoire so the answer for today is “pulled pork that is about to spend hours in the slow cooker.” My younger daughter and I would be perusing the menu for a place about a 15 minute drive away that has a bunch of independent mall-type food stands that are mostly East Asian (she’d be thinking Vietnamese, I’d probably be thinking Korean street food)
the usual, grilled cheese and pizza
PR
Former career, I don't miss it at all, but the first company I worked for really took care of their employees. When you're in PR, regardless of the industry, everything is the most important announcement/product/project and the client is almost always panicking about it's release until it drops, things go well and the next potential disaster starts to be crafted. It's usually pretty thankless and wears on you.
I remember the movie Crazy People from the late 80s(?). Something about truthful advertising. I didn't see the movie but remember the trailer had one ad campain.
Volvo — they're boxy but they're good.
Yeah, starring Dudley Moore as an ad executive who has a mental breakdown and winds up in a mental institution. Then he finds that the other patients at the institution are pretty great at coming up with hilariously truthful ads.
Not the best movie ever, but the fake ads are legitimately funny.
Oh I guess that's more marketing than PR. Oops...
T
Trouble, with a Capital T, that rhymes with P, that stands for Pool.
My family loves that musical, but we've only seen the movie! I'd love to see the revival.
Mr ...
Post your little hearts out over the next 2 days. I am driving up to Asheville to see beauty, eat at my favorite restaurant, and hike.
Are there any Asians in Asheville?
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
posting little hearts
Enjoy :)
Which restaurant? I've been meaning to make a trip out to Asheville (my wife has a friend/coworker who lives out there)
Curate. Warning: you need reservations waaaay in advance
I shouldn't have looked at the menu because now it needs to be lunchtime
DBD AV Club
Better Call Saul ended last week. Only Murders last night. The next seasons of Barry, Succession and a few other favorites are way off so I'm left with more reading time -- and re-runs of Schitt's Creek on Netflix.
Star Trek - Strange New Worlds
working my way thru the first season. mostly good. but it struck me how mediocre the acting is compared to TNG in the Elysian Kingdom episode where the crew are acting out a manufactured drama in an imaginary world.
>> The U.S.S. Enterprise becomes stuck in a nebula that is home to an alien consciousness that traps the crew in a fairy tale.
on the other hand the TNG episodes either in the holodeck or w/ Q were often amazing.
i realize that it might take a season or two ...
There are two great episodes, three that are good - and I like what they've done with some of the characters - some not so good episodes as well.
I'm not a TNG fan at all; TOS or DS9 rules.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
PRO
Looks like all MLB teams play every other team in the other league starting next year. I hope the Dodgers play at Baltimore next year, maybe on the same trip as at Pittsburgh and Washington. I'd love to go see a games at those 3 places. I guess less Washington, but while I'd be there for the other 2...
All 30 Major League Baseball teams to play one another in a season for first time in 2023
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34452964/all-30-major-league-baseball-teams-play-one-another-season-first-2023
All 30 teams will play one another in a season for the first time in the interleague era, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday as it released the schedule for the 2023 season.
As a result, division opponents will play each other just 13 times -- down from 19.
The new balanced schedule for 2023 has each team hosting a three-game series or playing a three-game series on the road against every team from the opposite league. Natural rivals -- like the Mets-Yankees, Dodgers-Angels and Cubs-White Sox -- will play each other four times, twice at home and twice on the road.
All this does is dilute the importance of division rivalries in favor of a misguided attempt at a round robin approach.
What's the point of a World Series, again?
The whole division thing is already cheapened by too many Wild Cards spots. This at least makes it more even then the current system when the WC fight is between teams from different divisions.
This is a good change. I'll gladly sacrifice watching several division games against the same old foes if it means seeing more cross-league, cross-country opponents.
Get off my lawn.
I think I liked it better before interleague play. Though it does give fans that live in a city with just one team the opportunity to see players from the other league.
Dang, so old school.
Yup.
Game #124: A’s ensure series loss, fall to Marlins 5-3
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2022/8/23/23319293/game-124-as-ensure-series-loss-fall-to-marlins-logue
The A’s dropped their second straight game to the Marlins, falling to Miami 5-3 in the middle game of the three game series.
The A’s have been marching out a bunch of rookie starting pitchers this year and they got an encouraging start from one of those arms tonight. Unfortunately the bats couldn’t back him up, providing a late trio of runs in the ninth inning to make it interesting at the end.
Starting pitcher Zach Logue had arguably his best start of the season tonight. After throwing a 10-pitch 1-2-3 top of the first, he stranded a runner on second in the second. The Marlins finally broke through with a leadoff home run in the top of the third, but Logue retired the next six in a row.
I was there! I ate a veggie dog!
Why did you go to that game? On a date?
Maybe the opposite of a date? One of my coworkers has season tickets, and with it comes a free box for one game (yesterday's), so a bunch of us went. Out of 13 people, 7 were speaking German.
I was looking through the box scores while eating lunch. Because of the time difference today's paper had Monday night's A's box. Less than 3K attendance. So sad how they have made the situation so bad.
Sigh
Giants beat the Tigers, 3-1
Saw the below on sfgate.com. I think we had a discussion before about how bad "San Fran" is and got mixed views. The Nats TV play-by-play guy regularly uses it. Last night he referred to the color guy (Kevin Frandsen) as a NoCal guy. I see SoCal all the time, but NoCal was a new one for me. Is it used commonly?
https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/giants-selling-shirts-with-hated-nickname-17392448.php
"NoCal" is an abomination that cannot stand.
I've only heard it the one time. The announcer is a midwest guy, growing up in Missouri and then working for years in Oklahoma so maybe it's something they say there.
NorCal, yes NoCal, no
I've never heard anyone call it "NoCal."
I guess I've been out of the loop, because I did not realize "San Fran" had become such a hated nickname. I knew "Frisco" was out, but apparently "San Fran" is worse now?
"San Fran" has always been despised in my book. But then again, I'm an old school Northern Californian who adheres to the Herb Caen school of thought on how to refer to San Francisco. Ess Eff is fine. The City is fine. San Francisco is fine. But ixnay to "Frisco" and "San Fran", both of which are either lazy or in reference to somewhere else..
Agreed
Money rules all.
Dodgers jump on Corbin Burnes early to back Tony Gonsolin in rout of Brewers
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/8/23/23319282/dodgers-offense-trayce-thompson-tony-gonsolin-corbin-burnes-brewers
For the second time in three days, the Dodgers made life miserable for a Cy Young contender, cruising to a 10-1 win over Corbin Burnes and the Brewers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Trayce Thompson had the big blow, a three-run home run in the second inning that broke the game open, in a game that was emblematic of his season. He wasn’t originally in the starting lineup on Tuesday, but was a late addition after Gavin Lux was scratched with a neck issue. Thompson was asked to fill in, just like he was asked to fill a void via trade in June when the Dodgers lost Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor to injury.
Thompson, a right-handed batter, started more against left-handers this year, but he’s had his fair share of time against right-handers, too. With Tuesday’s home run, plus an RBI single in the fourth off Burnes, Thompson this season is hitting .365/.459/.698 in 74 plate appearances against same-handed pitchers, the best OPS on the team against right-handers.
Sunday the Dodgers went up against the ERA leader and Cy Young favorite, Sandy Alcantra. 6 ER in 3.2 innings. Alcantra gets a chance for revenge this weekend.
Yesterday they went up against last year's Cy Young winner and top 5 in ERA Corbin Burnes. 7 ER in 3.2 innings.
Just turned on the mlb channel while eating a late breakfast. Walker Buehler had TJ surgery so likely out all of next season too.
His second. First was right after the Dodgers drafted him. They knew he needed it when they drafted him.
Saw this thread about Dr ElAttrache having done 74 MLB/MILB/draft players with 0 requiring revision.
https://twitter.com/MLBPlayerAnalys/status/1562195595950886913
Revision seems to be different than successful, then tearing it again, like Buehler. I guess revision is when something goes wrong and requires going back in.
Elsewhere in college
I’ve been struck that SC is plainly trying to replicate the work of the alumni network that they wrecked a couple of years ago - lots of emails about trying to get volunteers for local events, I hope they’re falling on their ass.
Hopefully, they learned their lesson. Hopefully they aren't hoping their alumni is just gullible.
CAL
Costco is selling season tickets to football. 2 tickets for $79. All home games except for Furd.
https://www.costco.com/ncaa---uc-berkeley-football-2-tickets%2C-evoucher.product.4000037818.html
Oh this is not a season ticket.
It's just select 2 tickets from 6 of the home games.
Ahh...reading fail.
I think my sentence is off too..
It should be "select 2 tickets from one of the 6 home games"
We get good home games on even years.
Even without Stanford, there's 6 home other home games in UC Davis, UNLV, Arizona, Washington, Oregon and UCLA games. Not the best seats but a nice deal.
And you don't even have to sit in the seats they give you.
I hope there will be some open seats you can move to in the stadium lol
If you're lucky
This must be a new thing Costco is doing this season--I've seen the same thing for Rutgers and (I think) Florida
How much are the cheapest tickets these days? When I was a kid my allowance was adequate to buy a ducat. My older brother exchanged bottle caps for tickets. Have we priced a lot of kids and low income families out? I also remember going with my Cub Scout troop. Do kids groups go anymore?
In recent years, its been cheaper to get 2 people into the game than it is to find a place to park.
I think I paid 150 for the cheapest tickets. I won't sit there anyways. I think they got rid of the family tickets?
Looks like they're prepping us for the FCS.
Calling all Golden Bears fans! This Costco offer includes 2 Tickets to a select Cal State Berkeley 2022 regular season home game. This voucher is powered by FEVO.
Cal State Berkeley.
At least they didn't call us Cali Bears.
The Fighting Hippies of Cal State Berkeley? The Bears' bitter rival? F*ck them. Let's start scheduling the b*stards againand stomping 'em. We'll play for possession of coveted CSB Bong. We want the bong! We want the bong! We want the bong!
This is terrible, just terrible.
Should we boycott Costco
No way. Buy the tickets, go to the game. Then, complain there was no such team as Cal State Berkeley playing as you had hoped and ask for a refund. Or, someone less lazy than me could bring this to the attention of the Cal/Cal-Berkeley/UC Berkeley/California marketing team.
Sigh
Go Bears!!!